1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaging for smoking products with a marking thereon.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Counterfeiting is no longer a national or a regional problem but a worldwide problem that has an impact not only on manufacturers but also on the consumer. Counterfeiting has also an impact on government revenues in that it affects the collection of taxes for, in particular, cigarettes and alcohol because of the existence of a black market where it is impossible to track and trace counterfeit (smuggled, diverted, etc.) products with no valid tax stamps.
Many solutions have been proposed to make counterfeiting impossible or at least very difficult and/or costly, for example RFID solutions and the use of invisible inks or mono-dimensional or bi-dimensional codes as unique identifiers to avoid (or at least to limit drastically) the existence of fake, diversion and/or counterfeit. However, problems still exist. For example, one problem with a packaging for smoking products such as cigarettes, cigars and the like is to provide the packaging with a marking or coding that does not affect the overall design and appearance of the packaging. Further, the marking and coding should be capable of being automatically recognized by an authentication device and should not change from one packaging to the next, i.e., should not depend on the brand, type and/or manufacturer of the smoking products.